Truss.



M. B. SMYTH.

TRUSS.

APPLICATION FILED P21115, 1912.

1,051,286. PatenneaJan. 21, 1913.

Inventor by f 1 l v 1 f Y p Attornys @Nllll @Tittitld ltlht TRUSS.

Application filed February 15, 1912.

To CLU w/Lom t may concer/n.:

Be it known that lf, MILTON B. SMYTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Holton, in the county of Jackson and. State of' Kansas, have invented a new and useful Truss, of which the following is a specification.

@ne of the objects of the present invention is to provide a truss spring so constructed that the pad will be prevented trom slipping upwardly, ottl the rupture, this movement of the pad being prevented by fashioning the spring at its forward end with an upwardly projecting lever arm, and by depressing the distal end of the spring somewhat abruptly below the body portion oi' the spring, a flexible element being connected with the lever arm and with the distal end ot the spring.

A -further object of the invention is to provide a truss the pressure of which may readily be decreased or increased at will.

The invention aims further to provide a back pad, adapted to distribute the counterpressure' of the pad in -liront, the bach pad being movable, so that the pressure oit the back pad may be applied at the proper place, the movability of the back pad permitting a bending of the truss spring, to conform to the curvature of the body of the wearer.

A further object of the invention is to present a novel form ot front pad, adapted to be placed directly upon the rupture, the iilling of the front pad being so distributed and arranged that the pad will be slightly more. tirm atits center than adjacent its periphery.

The invention aims further to provide a truss spring which will apply the tull pres sure of' the spring directly upon the pad, and not apply the pressure of the spring at a point above the pad, this result being accomplished by carrying the 'forward end .of the spring downwardly, toward the point of rupture, to follow the angle of the groin.

rllhe invention aims, tinally, to provide a truss of great strength and durability, the truss being thoroughly etiicient in retaining the rupture, and causing the wearer no discomfort.

Viith the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention .resides in the combination and arrangement oi parts and in the details ot construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 2t, 31913.

seran no. 677,706.

changes in the precise embodimentot invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawingsg-Figure l shows the invention in perspective; Fig. 2 shows the invention in perspective and applied; Fig. 3 1s a tragmental longitudinal section; Fig. 4 is a section online 4-4t ci Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 ot Fig. l; and Fig. 6 is a section of the liront pad.

ln carrying out the invention there is provided a. spring l ot arched "torni, the spring l preferably being ot circulaicross section. The forward end of the spring l is downwardly inclined toward the point of rupture, to follow the angle ot the groin, as denoted by the numeral 2. The downwardly inclined forward end 2 of the spring l terminates in a dmvnvardly slanting loop 3, disposed acutely to the median plane ot the body, the free end of the loop 3 terminating in an upwardly and laterally extended hook e, the bill 5 of which extends Ytorwardly and dowir wardly. hook el. constitutes a lever member, coperating with other elements oit the structure to prevent an upward movement ot the truss pad which is placed upon the rupture.

The distal portion 6 of the spring 2 is sharply bent as shown at 7, so that the'distal end 8 ot' the spring l extends below the body of the spring l, as shown in Fig. l, the distal end S preferably being disposed at an angle of about 900 to the body portion oit the spring. The lower extremity of the distal end S oit' the spring is carried laterally, and approximately parallel to the body portion of the spring, to form an arm 9, the eX- tremity ot the arm 9 being fashioned into an angularly disposed depending linger l0.

A flexible securing member,` preferably taking the forni ot' a strap 1l, is provided for holding the spring l about the body of the patient. The rear end of the strap ll is secured to the arm 9 in any desired manner. n the present instance, a flexible loop is straddled upon the rear end of the strap 1l, the loop 12 being secured to the strap l1 by means of a rivet le or other securing element. rIthe linger l0 extends down between the side walls of the loop 12, and, if desired, the side walls oli the loop 12 may be secured together, below the arm 9, by means ot' a pair of rivets l5, or other securing devices. .lhe depending finger 10 which is formed at As will be set forth hereinafter, the

the end of the arm 9, is located between one of the rivets 15 and the rivet 14, and since the walls of the loop are held together by the rivets 14 and 15, the depending finger 10 will constitute a means for preventing the strap 11 from rotatingl with the arm 9 as an axis. In the forward end of the strap 11 there are a plurality of perforations 16, any one of which may be engaged with the hook 4, the strap 11 ordinarily engaging the bend 1T of the hook 4, at the front of the hook, and above the loop 3,

The invention further includes a back pad 18 which is shorter than the spring 1, the back pad being mounted upon the spring for longitudinal sliding movement. The back pad 18 includes a body 19 to the inner face of which a facing 20 is applied, the body 19 ordinarily being fashioned from leather, and the facing 20 preferably being of cloth. An attaching strip 21 extends longitudinally of the body 19, and thespring 1 is slidably inclosed between the attaching strip and the body, the attaching strip 21 being transversely curved, as shown at 22, to extend around the spring 1. The attaching strip 21, the body 19 and the facing 20 are secured'together by two lines 23 of stitching, or otherwise, the lines of stitching, when employed, being located upon opposite sides of the spring 1.

The invention further includes a pad 24,

carried by the loop 3. The pad 24 may be of any desired construction. In the present instance, the pad 24 consists of a base 25, peripherally surrounded by a washer 25a of cloth or the like, the outer surface of the base being covered with a suitable facing 27 of clot-h or the like. A resilient body 28, preferably fashioned from rubber, and of approximately semi-spherical form is provided, and within the open end of the body 28, the base 25 is inserted. Small nails or other attaching elements are inserted through the resilient body 28, as indicated at 29, the nails 29 passing through the washer 25l and entering the periphery of the base 25. Although the supporting qualities of the pad may be secured in any desired manner, the body 28 is in the present instance filled with a padding 30 of resilient nature, the same being cotton, a spongel or the like. At the center of the pad 24, the padding 30 is closely compacted, as indicated at 31, the padding 30 being packed with less firmness, adjacent the periphery of the pad 24, as indicated at 32. A resilient button 28a projects from the member 28 and enters the portion 31 of the padding, to add to the firmness of the center of the pad and to retain the portion 31 of the padding. Superposed upon the facing 27 is a wear plate 33, a screw 34 passing through the wear plate 33 into engagement with the base 25 of the pad. The screw 34 serves to retain upon the pad,

a clip 35, having seats 36, adapted to receive the spaced arms of the loop 3.

Owing to the fact that the loop terminates in an upwardly extended lever arm or hook 4, with which the strap'll is assembled, the strap, when drawn taut, will have a normal tendency to press the pad 24 downwardly, the pad being thereby prevented from moving upwardly, and from becoming displaced from the rupture. The pad is further held in place by reason of the fact that the rear end of the strap 11 is attached to the arm 9, which arm 9 is depressed below the body portion of the spring, owing to the approximately vertical position of the distal end 8 of the spring.

Owing to the general construction of the spring 1, the spring may readily be shaped, to lit the body, and to position the pad 24 properly with respect to the rupture. Should the spring cut into the body of the wearer, it may be readily shaped to avoid this operation, and should the spring stand too far away from the body, the spring may readily be pressed inwardly at any point, saving where the distal portion 6 of the spring passes across the spine. At the front, the spring will exert a pressure upon the pad 24 only, the back pad 18 exerting av counter-pressure upon the posterior portion of the torso, in a Zone extended from, above and posterior to the great trochanter, to a point adjacent or beyond the spine, the counter-pressure being evenly and equally distributed, thus equalizing the pressure of the front pad 24. lVhen a greater pressure in the spring 1 is required, the same may be bent into a sharper curve, over the trochan- Y ter and in front of the ilium, the spring being straightened out slightly at the same point, when a diminution of pressure is required.

Owing to the fact that the back pad 18 is adjustable upon the spring 1, longitudinally of the spring, the counter-pressure exerted by the back pad may be applied at precisely the proper area. Moreover, as the back pad is longitudinally slidable upon thefspring 1, the ends of the spring may be uncovered successively, permitting a bending of the relatively stiff ends of the spring, through the medium of a wrench or like tool, the curvature in the intermediate portion of the spring 1 being readily secured, without the use of a tool of any sort.

In order to possess the highest efciency,

the pad 24 should be more firm at its center The use of a perineal belt is therefore avoided. Where the device is employed for retaining a single rupture, the distal end 8 of the spring is ordinarily located a couple ot' inches beyond the spine, but it is obvious that this construction may be departed from, when a double rupture is to be retained. rlhe ininor inodilications necessary to aeeonnnodate the structure to the retention of a double rupture, will be understood readily by a person skilled in the art, after a perusal of this specification.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is :u

In a device of the Class described, a spring provided at its rear end with a depending portion, the body of the spring slanting downwardly and forwardly from the upper end of the depending portion and being pro* vided at its forward end with a pad holding loop terminating in an upstanding arm; and a belt Connecting the lower end of the depending portion with the upper end of the arm, the upper edge of the belt being spaced from the upper end of the depending portion to ail'ord a leverage upon the spring and to permit the depending portion to constitute a resilient connection between the belt and the body of the spring, the belt slanting upwardly and forwardly from the lower end of the depending portion to the upper end of the arni, the belt and the spring lying in intersecting planes.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as lny own7 I have hereto atliXed Iny signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MILTON B. SMYTH.

Titnesses I?. F. SCHIRMER, SIDNEY S. LINsCo'r'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

